Wanderlei Silva Says Conor McGregor “Fears” Jose Aldo

On November 12, in the main event of UFC 205, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will challenge Eddie Alvarez for the organization’s lightweight title. If he’s successful in this massive showdown, he’ll become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously.

There are very few fight fans out there who aren’t excited for this historic scrap. Not everyone is pleased with this booking, however.

Jose Aldo, who lost the featherweight title to McGregor last December, and has won the interim title in the Irishman’s absence from the division, is not thrilled with it. In fact, he’s livid about it, and has even threatened to retire from the sport as a result. McGregor’s being paired with Alvarez, after all, deprives Aldo of the opportunity to rematch McGregor and reclaim the title that was his for so long.

The reasons McGregor opted to challenge Alvarez rather than defend his title against Aldo are manifold. The most notable of these reasons, undoubtedly, come down to money and the historical implications of the fight.

Yet according to MMA legend Wanderlei Silva, McGregor also chose to fight Alvarez because he’s afraid to rematch Aldo.

“McGregor fears Aldo, which is understandable,” Silva recently told Combate (via BloodyElbow). “I would be scared, too. Aldo is hands down the best fighter in the division and you can’t just mess with someone like that. When you mess with a fighter like that, it’s not about the money anymore. My dad used to say you don’t mess with a man. So don’t mess with Aldo. If you want his fans and his show, you need to respect him and not make empty promises.”

While Silva understands Aldo’s frustration, however, he also urged his countryman to try to keep a level head and think of his fans.

“If I could give Aldo a piece of advice today, it would be for him to calm down a think about his fans,” Silva said. “He’s still very young and has 10, 12 fights left in him and he can’t leave his fans, like me, without that fight and many others he can still have. Besides, he can still bring a lot of joy to our country.”

Do you think Conor McGregor fears Jose Aldo? Sound off, PENN Nation!